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Hark! The biography of Christmas
In this delightful sleigh ride through Christmas history, Paul Kerensa answers the festive questions you never thought to ask… Did Cromwell help shape the mince pie? Was St Nicholas the first to use an automatic door? Which classic Christmas crooners were inspired by a Hollywood heatwave? And did King Herod really have a wife called Doris?
Whether you mull on wine or enjoy the biggest turkey, the biggest tree or the biggest credit card bill, unwrap your story through our twelve dates of Christmas past. From Roman revelry to singing Bing, via Santa, Scrooge and a snoozing saviour, this timeless tale is perfect trivia fodder for the Christmas dinner table.
Whether you mull on wine or enjoy the biggest turkey, the biggest tree or the biggest credit card bill, unwrap your story through our twelve dates of Christmas past. From Roman revelry to singing Bing, via Santa, Scrooge and a snoozing saviour, this timeless tale is perfect trivia fodder for the Christmas dinner table.
288 pages, Paperback
First published September 22, 2017
3 people are currently reading
22 people want to read
About the author
Paul Kerensa
32 books15 followersWriter for TV shows like BBC's Miranda, Not Going Out, Top Gear, ITV's Royal Variety and C4's TFI Friday, Paul Kerensa is a comedian, author, screenwriter, podcaster and radio broadcaster.
Books include the Amazon Top 100 bestseller 'Hark! The Biography of Christmas', children's books like Noah's Car Park Ark (more coming soon), and So a Comedian Walks into a Church, which made The Independent's top 8 comedy books for Christmas that year.
For TV, Paul has been part of the British Comedy Award-winning writing team for BBC sitcom MIranda, and part of the RTS- and Cote d'Or-winning team for BBC's Not Going Out, for which he's helped write over 60 episodes.
For radio, Paul has written for The News Quiz, The Now Show, Dead Ringers and countless more.
On radio, Paul broadcasts on Radio 2 regularly with Pause For Thoughts for the Breakfast Show, as well as presenting his occasional show on BBC Sussex and BBC Surrey.
As a comedian, he won ITV's Take The Mike Award and was a finalist in the BBC New Comedy Awards and The Daily Telegraph Open Mic Awards.
Elsewhere, Paul is a husband, a father, a dog-walker, a time-waster, and has written all of the above, so take it with a pinch of salt.
Books include the Amazon Top 100 bestseller 'Hark! The Biography of Christmas', children's books like Noah's Car Park Ark (more coming soon), and So a Comedian Walks into a Church, which made The Independent's top 8 comedy books for Christmas that year.
For TV, Paul has been part of the British Comedy Award-winning writing team for BBC sitcom MIranda, and part of the RTS- and Cote d'Or-winning team for BBC's Not Going Out, for which he's helped write over 60 episodes.
For radio, Paul has written for The News Quiz, The Now Show, Dead Ringers and countless more.
On radio, Paul broadcasts on Radio 2 regularly with Pause For Thoughts for the Breakfast Show, as well as presenting his occasional show on BBC Sussex and BBC Surrey.
As a comedian, he won ITV's Take The Mike Award and was a finalist in the BBC New Comedy Awards and The Daily Telegraph Open Mic Awards.
Elsewhere, Paul is a husband, a father, a dog-walker, a time-waster, and has written all of the above, so take it with a pinch of salt.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
September 22, 2017
REVIEW
Approaching this book I was hoping for some funny stories about the different aspects and traditions of Christmas. With a foreward by Chris Evans, and an endorsement from Miranda Hart (Who I find really funny to watch) saying "The Perfect Stocking-Filler" I had high expectations for this book.
The cover has a light sky blue background with a decent amount of snow fall too. The cover has Christmas themed items within the "sky" part of it such as trees, a sleigh, doves, a stag/reindeer etc. Then the prominent part of the cover are like pieces you would put on a MR or Mrs Potato head, so there's reindeer ears, glasses, a Santa hat and red nose. All this adds to the Christmassy feel to the book. The title Hark! is quite dominant and catches the eye well, so I guess it should stand out well on a book shelf. There's what I would describe as an endorsement, or maybe recommendation or quote from Miranda Hart of "The Perfect Stocking-Filler". I admit as I do like Miranda Hart as I find her quite funny so her comment would encourage me to purchase this book.
The genre of this book is described as "humour" and yes it does have some humourous parts within the book and yes certain parts of the book made me smile. In my opinion the content within this is more of an informative, factual nature, with the addition of a little wit rather than funniness. The other genre I think applies to this book is nostalgia when finding out where all the small decorations, and traditions began and the original meanings behind them.This meant I didn't think the genre choice was specific or clear enough, meaning for me the book wasn't what I thought it would be.
The book is quite long and has lots of factual information within it from talking about the twelve key dates that have shaped our modern day Christmas. Apparently some early non-Christian Christmas' were merely the gathering of friends and family that coincided with winter and Christmas. This would also be the type of Christmas that existed before Christ, and the more religion connected Christmas. Years before celebrating the birth of Jesus, the "party" was to urge on Spring so not so much praising the "risen son" as "rising sun".
The book also reveals the four traditions around the Yule log and it decrease in popularity when fire places were much smaller and other decorations were increasing in popularity.
The book also discusses the story of St Nicholas which I can remember clearly listening to being told at the Church of England School that I attended. The whole poor man with three daughters that needed dowry money to enable them to be married, and St Nicholas throwing a bag of coins in through an open window that land in a stocking hung up near the fireside. It is covered in a little more detail in the book. Re-reading and recognising this certainly made me smile and gave me that feeling of nostalgia.
I enjoyed both learning about the traditions from different cultures, religions and countries too. Such as the Christmas Tree tradition originally being German tradition. The book also covers Christmases of old when stores closed for a couple of weeks so you had to buy in large amounts of food and drink to tide you over until the shops re-opened. These days most shops only close for Christmas Day, with larger retailers re-opening on Boxing Day for sales. Speaking of sales we have some stores starting sales Christmas Eve!
I found various parts of the book really interesting such as the section which talks about the Santa equivalent different countries have such as Italy has an old woman called Befana that rides on a broomstick and hands gifts for the good and coal to the not so good. Russia also has a female equivalent of St Nick. She is a white robed elf maiden who has a sleigh. In the Ukraine it is Father Frost and the Snowflake Girl.
The book also discusses Advent Calendars and their origin, as well as famous "Christmas Crooners". Christmas Carols and songs are mentioned going into quite a lot of detail about them. At the very end of the book there is a timeline from 4000BC to 2015. There is also an added joke prediction entry for the year 2048!
So although I did like most of the book there were sections that seemed to drag on and I felt a little impatient with those. I do agree with the quote Miranda Hart makes on the cover that this book would indeed make a great stocking filler gift, especially if the person you are buying is a bit of a history buff. My initial thoughts immediately as I finished the book was that this is an informative book and Christmas and its origins, customs and traditions from around the world.
Approaching this book I was hoping for some funny stories about the different aspects and traditions of Christmas. With a foreward by Chris Evans, and an endorsement from Miranda Hart (Who I find really funny to watch) saying "The Perfect Stocking-Filler" I had high expectations for this book.
The cover has a light sky blue background with a decent amount of snow fall too. The cover has Christmas themed items within the "sky" part of it such as trees, a sleigh, doves, a stag/reindeer etc. Then the prominent part of the cover are like pieces you would put on a MR or Mrs Potato head, so there's reindeer ears, glasses, a Santa hat and red nose. All this adds to the Christmassy feel to the book. The title Hark! is quite dominant and catches the eye well, so I guess it should stand out well on a book shelf. There's what I would describe as an endorsement, or maybe recommendation or quote from Miranda Hart of "The Perfect Stocking-Filler". I admit as I do like Miranda Hart as I find her quite funny so her comment would encourage me to purchase this book.
The genre of this book is described as "humour" and yes it does have some humourous parts within the book and yes certain parts of the book made me smile. In my opinion the content within this is more of an informative, factual nature, with the addition of a little wit rather than funniness. The other genre I think applies to this book is nostalgia when finding out where all the small decorations, and traditions began and the original meanings behind them.This meant I didn't think the genre choice was specific or clear enough, meaning for me the book wasn't what I thought it would be.
The book is quite long and has lots of factual information within it from talking about the twelve key dates that have shaped our modern day Christmas. Apparently some early non-Christian Christmas' were merely the gathering of friends and family that coincided with winter and Christmas. This would also be the type of Christmas that existed before Christ, and the more religion connected Christmas. Years before celebrating the birth of Jesus, the "party" was to urge on Spring so not so much praising the "risen son" as "rising sun".
The book also reveals the four traditions around the Yule log and it decrease in popularity when fire places were much smaller and other decorations were increasing in popularity.
The book also discusses the story of St Nicholas which I can remember clearly listening to being told at the Church of England School that I attended. The whole poor man with three daughters that needed dowry money to enable them to be married, and St Nicholas throwing a bag of coins in through an open window that land in a stocking hung up near the fireside. It is covered in a little more detail in the book. Re-reading and recognising this certainly made me smile and gave me that feeling of nostalgia.
I enjoyed both learning about the traditions from different cultures, religions and countries too. Such as the Christmas Tree tradition originally being German tradition. The book also covers Christmases of old when stores closed for a couple of weeks so you had to buy in large amounts of food and drink to tide you over until the shops re-opened. These days most shops only close for Christmas Day, with larger retailers re-opening on Boxing Day for sales. Speaking of sales we have some stores starting sales Christmas Eve!
I found various parts of the book really interesting such as the section which talks about the Santa equivalent different countries have such as Italy has an old woman called Befana that rides on a broomstick and hands gifts for the good and coal to the not so good. Russia also has a female equivalent of St Nick. She is a white robed elf maiden who has a sleigh. In the Ukraine it is Father Frost and the Snowflake Girl.
The book also discusses Advent Calendars and their origin, as well as famous "Christmas Crooners". Christmas Carols and songs are mentioned going into quite a lot of detail about them. At the very end of the book there is a timeline from 4000BC to 2015. There is also an added joke prediction entry for the year 2048!
So although I did like most of the book there were sections that seemed to drag on and I felt a little impatient with those. I do agree with the quote Miranda Hart makes on the cover that this book would indeed make a great stocking filler gift, especially if the person you are buying is a bit of a history buff. My initial thoughts immediately as I finished the book was that this is an informative book and Christmas and its origins, customs and traditions from around the world.
September 26, 2017
From the front cover and the blurb, I had expected 'Hark!' to be a highly humorous account of all things Christmas - a light-hearted book full of joy that could be read in the run-up to Christmas to fill you with a similar warmth to that of a delicious mulled wine. Unfortunately this book was more factual and historical; although there were little snippets of dry humour here and there, there weren't enough humorous parts to make this an easy read. I found the content quite heavy and much more suited to someone who is perhaps a history buff and has the patience to sit and learn all the facts behind Christmas.
May 7, 2022
HARK by Paul Kerensa is a fun trip through twelve key dates from Christmases past and present.
If you love Christmas and/or fun trivia, you'll enjoy the book.
If you love Christmas and/or fun trivia, you'll enjoy the book.
October 27, 2017
I was given a copy of this book by NetGally for an Honest Review.
This is the type of book many of my family member shudder to see. But me and a few of friends just adore these eyes of books. Facts and little know information on a subject like Christmas and how it came to be is a treasure trove. I can see me chatting family members ears off with wonderful facts about Yule and Christmas. I may get some copies as stocking stuffers. The author has a great turn of phrase that delights. I love the school play descriptions and would have loved to be a member of the audience with all those parents watching their children act out their hearts out. All in All a wonderful read. I recommend this book to all those who love facts, facts, facts
And a Happy Yule and Christmas to all.
This is the type of book many of my family member shudder to see. But me and a few of friends just adore these eyes of books. Facts and little know information on a subject like Christmas and how it came to be is a treasure trove. I can see me chatting family members ears off with wonderful facts about Yule and Christmas. I may get some copies as stocking stuffers. The author has a great turn of phrase that delights. I love the school play descriptions and would have loved to be a member of the audience with all those parents watching their children act out their hearts out. All in All a wonderful read. I recommend this book to all those who love facts, facts, facts
And a Happy Yule and Christmas to all.
September 28, 2017
Don't let the zany, noveltytastic cover of Hark! The Biography of Christmas fool you: this is no compendium of Christmas silliness (although there are plenty of Dad jokes to keep things suitably - and seasonally - fun). Rather, this is a glistening avalanche of festive fact with plenty of 'proper' history thrown in, all delivered in a lively, engaging and often laugh-(or groan)-out-loud way. A whip-cracking sleigh ride through Christmases long-past to the present, Kerensa regales the reader with the dark, distant origins of the festivities right up to our modern Mariah and must-have toys celebrations.
A glittering cornucopia of Christmas, this warm and witty book will appeal to Christmasaholics and history buffs alike. The perfect treasury of facts with which to regale the family over the turkey, make this a part of your run-up reading this year - you'll lap(land) up every tinselly morsel.
My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
A glittering cornucopia of Christmas, this warm and witty book will appeal to Christmasaholics and history buffs alike. The perfect treasury of facts with which to regale the family over the turkey, make this a part of your run-up reading this year - you'll lap(land) up every tinselly morsel.
My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
December 21, 2024
Hark! The Biography of Christmas is a book with a fascinating topic and full of interesting facts. It’s also let down by it’s author, Paul Kerensa’s constant efforts to be funny. And at times they are efforts. The tone taken would better fit a causal spoken word format like a podcast, over a novel it’s like a too-rich sauce.
However, irritating tone aside, I learnt some interesting things…
Mary is the one who was immaculately conceived, so she wasn’t tainted with original sin.
Little donkey was written by the writer of ‘I’ve got a daft pigeon’ and ‘their’s more to life than women and beer’.
Baby St Nick abstained from breastfeeding on fast days, as an older man he resurrected boys pickled in brine and punched heretics.
Peacock is a rather dry meat.
Daphne de Maurier’s father was the first stage Captain Hook.
‘While shepherds watched their flocks’ was the only carol legally on the books and can be sung to the tune of ‘House of the Rising Sun’.
The tune of ‘Hark the Herald Angels’ was originally written for a song about the printing press.
… and ‘Silent Night’ was declared an ‘intangible cultural heritage’ by UNESCO.
However, irritating tone aside, I learnt some interesting things…
Mary is the one who was immaculately conceived, so she wasn’t tainted with original sin.
Little donkey was written by the writer of ‘I’ve got a daft pigeon’ and ‘their’s more to life than women and beer’.
Baby St Nick abstained from breastfeeding on fast days, as an older man he resurrected boys pickled in brine and punched heretics.
Peacock is a rather dry meat.
Daphne de Maurier’s father was the first stage Captain Hook.
‘While shepherds watched their flocks’ was the only carol legally on the books and can be sung to the tune of ‘House of the Rising Sun’.
The tune of ‘Hark the Herald Angels’ was originally written for a song about the printing press.
… and ‘Silent Night’ was declared an ‘intangible cultural heritage’ by UNESCO.
November 30, 2019
This is a treasury of Christmas trivia and history. A great source of facts and stories about Christmas.
A little boring at times, but The humour helps you read the book.
Wonderful if you need some interesting fact and funny stories for your Christmas Sermons.
A little boring at times, but The humour helps you read the book.
Wonderful if you need some interesting fact and funny stories for your Christmas Sermons.
December 28, 2017
Enjoyable stocking filler with a variety of Christmas themed facts to interest all ages and interests.
December 9, 2018
Really enjoyable Advent read. Packed with stories and facts about the celebration of Christmas, sprinkled with Kerensa's wit. This is light hearted but with bags of detail.
December 15, 2021
One with so much information you could read it every Christmas . If you can catch the author doing a reading there's nothing quite like singing well known carols to alternative tunes!
January 22, 2018
Wow. I don't know what to say about this book. Based on the cover and description, I thought I would be getting a fun holiday book telling a fun story about Christmas. Instead I got a history book that I could not finish. I literally do not understand the purpose of this book and what audience would be interested. First, I thought the foreword was written by THE Chris Evans. I now don't think that's the case and if it is, did he not read the book before putting his name on this atrocity? After reading the foreword and still being confused about what this book was about, I should have stopped there, but I gave the book a chance. Once I started reading and saw that not only was I getting a history lesson, but I was also getting a crop lesson (I'm not kidding) I could no longer continue with this book. So maybe my review isn't fair, maybe the book became funny and interesting. I doubt it and I could not be paid to finish this book.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews